Fes

Lost in the Medina

The Medina of Fes has over 9,500 alleys, Joseph explains to me. GPS does not work here. No wonder I get lost. He takes me back to the parking lot. We walk through tiny, strongly smelling alleys, past the crowds of people. This is where the people live. Next door, shopping is happening. There are alleys for tourists – and others nearby. Everything is cheaper there. And dirtier. Everyone wants money. For parking, for every hint, for every nod in the right direction. Joseph demands 20 euros.

Tradition: Berber and Tanner

Fes is the oldest of Morocco's four imperial cities. City of the Berbers. City of leather. Here, leather is tanned using ancient traditions. In a pungent smell, men dip the pelts in a mixture of cow urine, pigeon droppings, water, lime, and salt. They stand right in the middle of it, without gloves. Mint is offered to us visitors – for the nose. I am prepared: essential oil, FFP2 mask. Still, it makes me shudder.

Work Smells of Body

And while I stand there, I think of the other end of this journey – of orderly Europe. This ordered, wealthy, insured life, where everything has its place, its rules, its security. And how far that suddenly seems from this world here, where work still smells of body, and life costs something. Nothing here is sterile. No motion is invisible. Everything happens before your eyes.

Souks

In the Medina, leather is sold as colorful bags and shoes at high prices. I retreat to the most beautiful souks: spices, vegetables, baked goods – baklava! – and garments.

Days in the Medina are exhausting. Narrow, winding, loud, smelly. The sun hardly penetrates. Everything is close. Everything screams. And everywhere are people, like me, trying to capture it all. In pictures.
But be cautious: always ask. Many Muslims do not like to be photographed.

Alone, Dangerous?

Later, a police officer shines a light into my bus. Am I alone? Want to spend the night here? Yes, I do. No, he says. Too dangerous. He gives me his phone number in case something happens. I drive on. I end up in the next city, in a parking lot next to the next Medina of Meknes. It’s enough for a day.